Author Archives: robertwilkie

Cool, home kits to test for lead

Posted on February 23, 2016 by robertwilkie

If you own an older home like me, you always wonder about what walls/parts of the house have lead in them.  Well now you can get a kit for under $50 and test things out yourself.  Which is a heck … Continue reading →

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Another batch of Layoffs in Xerox

Posted on February 23, 2016 by robertwilkie

Another batch in CA this time. http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/xerox-cutting-495-jobs-in-bakersfield

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So if you go to the DMV, it may not be them that mess things up

Posted on February 23, 2016 by robertwilkie

It looks like Conn. State outsourcing of paperwork to Xerox for commercial truckers hit a problem, Xerox was underbilling the truckers.  And the state wants its money. http://www.journalinquirer.com/connecticut_and_region/dmv-seeking-fees-from-commercial-truckers/article_396b2a10-d988-11e5-8b70-4b79f353aa62.html

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Get weather info with finger

Posted on February 23, 2016 by robertwilkie

OK going back a few decades with UNIX commands.  Apparently you can use finger to go to graph.no and get your weather data via command line.  So finger rochester@graph.no Not sure if it works yet as its blocked in my … Continue reading →

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An opensource RFID scrambler

Posted on February 22, 2016 by robertwilkie

Too funny.  Author put forth a realitively simple circuit that could scramble RFID in your wallet.  The project is called GuardBunny. GuardBunny Active RFID Protection Going Open Hardware

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Interesting article that points out where Xerox lost, others may gain

Posted on February 22, 2016 by robertwilkie

Interesting article about how Xerox lost alot of tech with PARC, but pointed out that its very important to do this work.  And it can be successful for a company even if its not related to current business.  Should be … Continue reading →

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Swarm of robot boats

Posted on February 19, 2016 by robertwilkie

All the bots are using RPi’s and talk to eachother to get a job done. Interesting build. Swarm of Robot Boats Coming To An Ocean Near You Soon

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Squeeze as much as you can with your CNC ans SVGNest

Posted on February 19, 2016 by robertwilkie

Cool tool that will try to squeeze all your cutouts on one sheet of plywood. http://makezine.com/2016/02/10/save-time-materials-svg-nest/

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Hacking systems with barcodes

Posted on February 19, 2016 by robertwilkie

The author was going after POS systems.  But this would totally apply to things like printers and scanners too. http://hackaday.com/2016/02/17/barcodes-that-hack-devices/

Posted in Printer Security, Security | Comments Off on Hacking systems with barcodes

A sheet metal pistol

Posted on February 19, 2016 by robertwilkie

The author attempted to build a pistol from sheet metal and other parts found at Home Depot.  Crazy thing is it almost works. http://hackaday.com/2016/02/17/building-a-sheet-metal-pistol/

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